Australian, Abu Dhabi regulators to co-operate on fintech

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has reached an agreement to co-operate with its United Arab Emirates counterpart, the Abu Dhabi Global Market, on financial technology.

As part of the agreement, the two regulatory authorities will share information to keep on top of each other's regulatory and commercial developments in order to support financial innovation in Australia and the UAE.

ASIC's innovation hub and the ADGM regulatory laboratory will be made available for innovative fintech businesses under the agreement.

Most of the fintech activity by start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa region has focused on payments and mobile wallets, ASIC said.

"With this fintech collaboration, ADGM and ASIC are able to tap on the strengths and network of each other’s markets to support technology start-ups and innovators in advancing their creative solutions into new markets," Richard Teng, chief executive of the UAE corporate regulator said in a statement.

Australian fintech businesses wanting access to the UAE will have an easy pathway to the ADGM, ASIC said.

The UAE is Australia's largest trading partner in the Arab world, with $8.8 billion worth of goods and services being exchanged between the two countries annually.

ASIC has similar fintech agreements with the United Kingdom, Singapore, Ontario, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia.